Conventionally, a card reader has been known which includes a card reader part for reproducing information from a card such as a magnetic card or for recording information into the card, a card hopper in which cards before they are used are stored, and a reject box in which a card after it has been used is collected, and which provides a card issuing function and a card collection function (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-159110 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-243426).
In the card reader as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-159110, a card hopper and a reject box are disposed so as to superpose on each other in a vertical direction from the upper side in this order. Specifically, the card hopper is disposed on an upper side of a straight-shaped feeding passage where a card is carried and a reject box is disposed on a lower side of the feeding passage. Further, the card reader is provided with a card feeding mechanism between the card hopper, the reject box and the card reader part for issuing a card to the card reader part and for collecting a card from the card reader part.
In the feeding mechanism described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-159110, when a card is to be collected in the reject box, the card becomes to be temporarily in a resiliently bent state because the card being carried on the straight-shaped feeding passage is guided to the reject box which is disposed on the lower side of the feeding passage. However, in this feeding mechanism, in order to adequately carry and collect a card, take-in rollers are disposed at a position where a rear side portion of the card can be carried in a state that the card which is temporarily bent resiliently is restored to the straight line shape again.
In the card reader described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-243426, the card hopper and the reject box are disposed so as to superpose on each other in a vertical direction from the upper side in this order. Specifically, the card hopper and the reject box are disposed on the upper side of a straight-shaped card feeding passage. Further, this card reader is provided with a flapper and three-gang rollers for issuing a card to the card reader part and for collecting a card from the card reader part between the card hopper, the reject box and the card reader part
In the card reader described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-243426, when a card is to be collected in the reject box, a card is resiliently and temporarily bent by the flapper because the card being carried on the straight-shaped feeding passage is guided to the reject box which is disposed on the upper side of the feeding passage. However, in this feeding mechanism, in order to adequately carry and collect a card, the three-gang rollers are disposed at a position where a rear side portion of the card is carried in a state that the card which is resiliently and temporarily bent is restored to the straight shape again.
However, in the card readers described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-159110 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-243426, in order to collect a card to the reject box (card collection box), the take-in rollers or the three-gang rollers are disposed at a position where a rear side portion of the card can be carried in a state that the card which is resiliently and temporarily bent is restored to the straight shape again. Therefore, a structure of the card reader which is provided with the card collection box becomes complicated. Further, an overall length of the card reader in a card carrying direction also becomes longer and a card carrying time to the card collection box becomes longer and thus it is difficult that a card collecting time is shortened.